1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to the field of telecommunications systems, and more particularly, the present invention relates to an improved system and method for connecting telecommunications equipment.
2. Description of the Related Art
There are known radio communication networks which have at least partially wireless communication connections and public or private communication networks with wired communication connections. Communication systems that use radio communication networks comprise switching centers, switching and control locations, radio transmission units and communication terminal equipment that can be connected to one another in a great variety of ways.
A satellite communication system known from the article "Iridium--eine Vision wird Wirklichkeit", Detlef Otto , Sigurd Schuster, Siemens telcom report 18 (1995), No. 2, represents such a radio communication network content of which is incorporated by reference. In this system, communication terminal equipment are provided for dual operation in the GSM mobile radio telephone network and in the satellite communication system. In addition to the capability of communicating in the GSM mobile radio telephone network, a communication terminal equipment can also set up a communication connection to a further communication terminal equipment via a satellite radio transmission unit. Alternatively, the communication terminal can be called by this further communication terminal equipment regardless of whether the further communication terminal equipment is connected via a public communication network, a mobile radio telephone network or satellite communication network.
Connections from the satellite or satellites to the communication terminal equipment as well as to one another and to at least one terrestrial switching and control location can be set up. The switching and control location is connected to at least one switching center, whereby the switching centers serve as transit or bridge nodes to further networks such as the public telephone network or a GSM network.
German Published Application DE 195 21 374 A1 discloses a communication network with satellites, terrestrial terminal control units and switching centers, whereby an intra-switching of two correlating communication paths takes place in the satellite. To that end, it is necessary that the switching center of the terrestrial terminal control unit signals the identity of the two communication paths in a correlation message. The signaling message, however, is not sufficient in order to switch beyond the intra-switching satellite.
An earlier patent application (P 195 26 415.0-31) has disclosed a pure signaling method wherein the switching center sends, among other things, identification data that are specifically associated with a radio communication in the correlation information. The data is sent to the switching and control location. The transmission of the signaling information takes place according to the central signaling system No. 7 (CCS7) on an interface that is employed in addition to the A-interface between switching center and the switching and control location. A control part SCCP of the CCS7 signaling system used for signaling transactions thereby stops at the communication of the correlation message or, respectively, the correlation information contained therein.
In order to be able to support the CCS7 signaling system in the satellite communication system for the afore-mentioned function, the control part SCCP must be fashioned as an independent, new sub-system in addition to the control part designed for the terrestrial GSM mobile radio telephone network. It is thereby standard that the control part SCCP for the transmission of the correlation information comprises no useful channel reference whatsoever but assumes the signaling function only for signaling connections. One object underlying the present invention is comprised in reducing the signal running times for transmission of useful information in the useful channels in the communication network an thereby fashioning the call control more simply.